Three Times A Charm

I receive a weekly newsletter from Uncork New York called The Wine Press via Email. A couple of weeks ago they had a write up on Goose Watch Winery

how their Golden Spumante had won awards in a couple of California Competitions; which impressed me. It happened to be the week before Valentine's Day so I thought it would be a nice addition to the store for that occasion.



Golden Spumante:
Have fun with this effervescent and fruity Spumante that is sure to spice up any moment that it is served! Semi-sweet with fresh grape aromas.
Residual Sugar: 4.5%
Awards:Double Gold Winemaker's Challenge, CA 1/10Gold Medal San Francisco Chronicle, CA 1/10

Goose Watch is family-owned and operated by Dick and Cindy Peterson which opened in 1997 on Cayuga Lake.

Goose Watch specializes in truly unique premium wines, with a selection unlike any you will find anywhere in the world. Some of the other wines they produced are Pinot Grigio, Viognier, Lemberger, Merlot, and even a Pinot Noir Brut Rosé Champagne.


I failed to mention that Goose Watch wasn't the first winery that was owned and operated by Cindy and Dick it was Swedish Hill Winery also on Cayuga Lake.

Swedish Hill is one of the largest wineries in the region. After 20 years of growing and selling grapes to area wineries, the Peterson's crushed their first grapes in 1985 and opened Swedish Hill Winery in 1986. Just 1,300 cases were produced that year; now they produced over 60,000 cases of award-winning wines and champagnes. Swedish Hill is recognized as one of the top award-winning wineries in New York State, having won state, national and international acclaim. Swedish Hill has many annual festivals including their Scandinavia Festival in June.


Last summer I had a customer request one of their wines; Doobie Blues


Their pet miniature donkey named Doobie provided the inspiration for this wine. They say he can often be heard bellowing his own version of the "blues". The wine can be described as fun, fruity and slightly sweet (kind of like they describe Doobie!), similar to a sweeter style Riesling.
Residual Sugar: 5%


The third winery The Peterson's own is Penguin Bay Winery & Champagne House, nestled along a hillside overlooking some of the region's premier vineyards, where you will enjoy one of the best views of Seneca Lake while sampling premium wines and champagnes.

One of their popular wines is Penguin Bay Pinot Grigio

Dry, clean and crisp in the mouth, their Pinot Grigio has delicate fruit aromas and has more flavor and body than most Italian versions.
Residual Sugar: 0.8%
Awards:Gold Medal Long Beach Grand Cru, 7/09

If you like white wine I'm sure you will find one or all three of these pleasing to your palate since they are all different, depending on what you like or are in the mood for; sweet, semi-dry, or dry. So stop by Vonadeau and pick up one to try! Let me know that you saw it on my blog and receive 10% off.

Relaxing Weekend Get-Away

During a couple of visits to the Finger Lakes Region in New York, we stayed at a lovely B&B called Finton's Landing on Keuka Lake in Penn Yan.




Finton's Landing is owned and operated by a wonderful couple, Arianne and Doug Tepper. From the moment you walk through the door of their beautiful home,

you feel like you have known them for years. The Tepper's are always happy to recommend wineries and restaurants. Believe me, they have been there long enough that they know all the right places, and you will be more than happy with their selections.

They know great food because Arianne is a fabulous cook.




In the early morning while you are tucked warm and cozy in your bed, Arianne is busy prepping and cooking a wonderful breakfast from fresh fruits, homemade sweet breads, jams, jellies, syrups, pancakes, french toast, or whatever she decides to make for that morning. You definitely won't go away hungry, and in case you do get hungry, she always has a little care package you can take with you when you leave on your daily adventure. I can't give Arianne all the credit. She wouldn't be able to do it without Doug who, with his charming personality, takes care of serving you and cleaning up after you finally tear yourself away from the table.



Richard and I get immense pleasure from relaxing in their gazebo



to watch the sunset over the lake while enjoying a bottle of Meritage from Ravines Wine Cellars, which is right down the road from Finton's Landing and part of the Keuka Wine Trail.

Meritage is made from the traditional Bordeaux grape varietals Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot. These varietals are then blended into a fuller, more complexed and interesting wine. Aged in toasty French oak barrels, this robust wine shows great fruit intensity and is well suited to cellar aging. The soft ripe tannins make Meritage easy to enjoy with many different types of food.


Ravines is an exciting and young boutique winery leading the new talent in world class Finger Lakes winemaking.


Winemaker/owner Morten Hallgren, was educated on his family's Centuries-old vineyard in the South of France and degreed at Europe's premier winemaking school. He marries Old World winemaking techniques with American innovation to craft small batches of dry, elegant and balanced wines from 100% Finger Lakes grapes.


"Fine winemaking is attention to detail in the vineyard and in the Cellar." He and his wife, Lisa, have created a unique and charming tasting room where they offer regional specialty foods, artisanal cheeses, and a selection of handmade & imported chocolates.


So next time you're looking for a relaxing weekend get-away, book a stay at Finton's Landing and enjoy a nice bottle or two of Ravine's wine. I guarantee before you leave you will be planning another weekend there.

If you are interested in trying Ravine's wines, I have five varietals in stock with 10% off through the month of February.

Go Green

While planning our trip to the Hudson Valley Region Dominique DeVito told us we should definitely stop to visit Stoutridge Vineyards in Marlboro, NY which we did and met Stephen Osborn, Proprietor. Stephen spent quite some time showing us around and also sharing his wines. The vineyards were a sight to see.

What impressed me the most about their wines was when Stephen told us they were a "gravity winery" meaning they never use pumps or filters in their wine making. In addition they do minimal chemical processing to their wines. They don't "fine" their wines with gelatin's, tannins, or clays. No water or sugar is added nor do they chemically adjust the acidity of their wines. Stoutridge uses minimal sulfites in their wines and do not add sulfites or sorbates to their wine after it is made. Stoutridge wines are very nearly unprocessed and in a very natural state.

Stoutridge owner Stephen believes in "Green" they produce most of their own power and believe in the near future that they will produce more power then they will need.

Stoutridge wines are wines that I would suggest to pair with a meal, since they don't add anything to their wines they tend to be a little on the dryer side. Their whites go great with seafood and the reds are best after being decanted for a few hours.

Stephen sells his wines exclusively at the winery but did let me purchase a couple of mixed cases for the store.

If you are ever in the area stop by and visit Stephen at the winery

or if you would like to try his wines I still have a few bottles at the store.

Maybe enjoy a nice bottle of Stoutridge wine with your sweetheart on Valentine's Day!

Take the Chill Off

You already know that I'm interested in supporting products from New York State. So when I heard that there was a distillery in New York making whiskey, bourbon, rye, and vodka,

I was interested in finding out more. I wasn't having too much luck finding out where it was, so when we stopped at Hudson-Chatham Winery one day to pick up some wine for Vonadeau, I asked Carlo if he knew of the distillery. Of course he did

and gave us the website for Tuthilltown Distillery, where I went as soon as I had the chance and got Ralph Erenzo's number.

Ralph is one of the partners at Tuthilltown Spirits in Gardiner, New York,





where the distillers are bringing back traditional bath-distilled spirits,



an exciting development.

I called Ralph and explained to him that I have a small wine and spirits shop in upstate New York and was interested in his spirits. Ralph and I talked for awhile, and he encouraged me to come to the distillery for a tour.




So Richard and I decided to take a long weekend in August to go to the Hudson Valley Region to meet with Ralph and also visit a few of the wineries in the area.

We stayed at a wonderful B&B called The Inn at Twaalfskill, the perfect place for a summer weekend.





When we arrived at the distillery, Ralph took us on a tour and introduced us to the team members who were there. Everyone was accommodating and pleasant; their enthusiasm was infectious.

Ralph showed us all around and explained how everything is done all the way from gathering the grain, distilling the spirits,



to the bottling and labeling.

Affixing the Label

Of course last but not least came the tasting! Ralph poured generous samples of their spirits, and we greedily drank them all! We bought a mixed case of bourbon, whiskey, and rye to start off with in the shop and have had to replenished our inventory a couple of times since.

HUDSON BABY BOURBON is the first bourbon whiskey to be distilled in New York.

This single grain bourbon is made from 100% New York corn and aged in special small American Oak barrels.

This unique aging process produces a mildly sweet, smooth spirit with hints of vanilla and caramel. The BABY is Tuthilltown’s first whiskey and the first legal pot-distilled whiskey made in New York since prohibition.

BABY BOURBON is a perfect introduction to aged whiskey spirits. It is mild and friendly, bright to the tongue and warming all the way down. Perfect for a cold winter's night,



it would make a delicious and unique present for your Valentine.

Each bottle is hand waxed and numbered.



It is a true American classic.

The BABY is their most sought after spirit and is just one of the spirits you can sample if you

join us at the shop on Saturday, February 6th from 3:30-6:30pm.

Jason Santora will be more than happy to pour you the different samples to sip, savor, and enjoy!

Join the Hunt

Good things come to those who wait!

I first met Joyce Hunt, who with her husband Art, owns the beautiful Hunt Country Vineyards in the Finger Lakes,





when she was going around with Bill Blake, my sales distributor from Empire Merchants.

Bill has done two tastings at the store. One was for the Grand Opening, and the other was the Holiday Tasting the weekend before Christmas. (This way you can put a face with the name so I don't have to go on and on about how wonderful he is because you will already know.)

Hunt Country Vineyards is a true farm winery, family owned and managed,




where they produce an entire range of wines from 100% New York State grapes.

I asked Joyce if Hunt Country would be interested in doing a tasting sometime. She said yes, but it would probably be in the winter when they aren't as busy at the vineyard. So I was very excited when Joyce called me Friday night to schedule a tasting at the store.

Richard and I tasted some of Joyce's wine when we visited Hunt Country a couple of years ago, and I have stocked it in the store since it opened.

But when Joyce stopped in in April, she had a few different wines for us to sample. These new wines had just been released.





One of these wines, which I especially like, has an interesting name.

One of the aims of the mystical medieval science of Alchemy was the discovery of the elixir of longevity. This wine - named Alchemy - is a delicious blend of 35% Cabernet Franc, 25% Merlot, 21% Noiret, and 19% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Come to the tasting, which is scheduled for Friday, January 29th from 4:30 to 7:00 p.m.

and discover the magic of Hunt Country Alchemy - a rich, velvety and dry red wine - all 100% Finger Lakes - with black cherry notes, subtle oak and hints of spice. It's a smooth blend of Old World and New World grape varieties, which you can enjoy it with a wide range of hardy meat dishes, rich cheeses, and tomato-based dishes, like spaghetti and meatballs or your favorite Super Bowl chili.

This interesting wine retails for $16.43, but if you come in on the 29th to taste it, you will get 10% off.

Joyce's son Jonathan, who is the director of winemaking at the vineyard, will be pouring.

Caroline, Jonathan, Joyce, and Art Hunt

Stop by and meet Jonathan. Let him pour you a taste of some Hunt Country Vineyards' wines, including Alchemy, and answer all your questions.

I hope you can join us on January 29th.

"Recovering"

I had shoulder surgery on Monday so I'm sorry to say that my blog isn't completed for this week.
Hopefully as things improve; I will have a new one posted next week.
Thank you for checking.

Wine "Pearing"

Here we are my second attempt at adding to my blog!



Since we did a local red wine last week, I thought we would do a local white wine this week.

Victoria made the decision easy for me because when we were working on the blog last weekend, she mentioned that she needed to come by the shop to get a bottle of a white wine she had at one of my tastings. She thinks it will be great with a pork dish that she makes, Roasted Pork Loin with Juniper and Herbs from Melissa Clark's cookbook, Chef Interrupted.

This white wine is made by Brookview Station Winery




and is called Oh What a Pear!




Another comment a customer made about this particular wine is it would make a nice wedding gift because of the name...which had never crossed my mind until then. Think about "pearing" it with some wine glasses.





Or some fabulous Harry & David Royal Riviera Pears.

A sign of elegance and luxury, Pear Wine was a favorite of ancient Rome. Now, as fruit wines are coming back into fashion, Oh What a Pear! is Brookview Station Winery's Hudson Valley twist on the ancient Roman favorite. A very pleasant semi-dry wine that's refreshing, light, and fruity, this wine "pears" nicely with cheeses, light dishes, and, I am sure, roast pork. This wine retails for $15.99. Mention that you saw it on my blog and receive 10% off.

Happy New Year!

My friend Victoria Carr suggested that I start a blog for my store, Vonadeau, in Berlin, New York.



Even though I thought it was a great idea, I told her I would look into it and try to see if I could figure out how to do it.

Well, that didn't go far with Victoria. She said she would be happy to help me set it up and get started. We set a date and got together to work on it. So now that the holidays are over, and things aren't as hectic, here we go.

Hudson-Chatham Winery in Chatham, New York, is owned by Dominique and Carlo DeVito.



Dominique and Carlo are wonderful people, who make a number of very nice wines.





Dominique has done two tastings at Vonadeau




and has poured most of their lovely wines for us to sample.

The most recent wine Dominique and Carlo bottled was in November - their 2008 Baco Noir Reserve.




The Baco Noir is hand-picked from a select block of Steve Casscles's 15-year-old vines, which are grown along the Hudson River in Athens, New York. The 2008 growing season was good, and the grapes were harvested at peak flavor. The wine was aged in French oak for nearly a year.

This Baco Noir is rich and flavorful with deep cherry flavors and hints of plum and vanilla. It's a luscious, fruit-forward wine that can be enjoyed now or cellared for a few years. Not only does this Baco Noir pair very nicely with red meats, it is also delicious with poultry. We enjoyed a bottle with Thanksgiving dinner but don't forget about chicken, duck, and Richard's favorite – grouse. It also pairs well with appetizers. This wonderful bottle of wine sells for $20.95.

You can find out more about Hudson Chatham Wines by going to their website or, even better, stopping in at the winery in Ghent, New York, for a visit,



in which case you can say hi to Dominique and check out the other goodies available there.

In the meantime, I wish you all a happy and healthy New Year!